Published: Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 9:40 p.m.

Max Grant has been making cornmeal for about eight years on his farm in Mills River. Last week on his snow-covered farm, he spoke about the farming way of life while using a mill to grind kernels for the next batch of cornmeal.

How long have you been farming?

Ever since I was 16. We grew corn, cattle and hogs. We used to take our corn down to a mill down the road and used to make cornmeal there. Then I got interested in (making cornmeal) and found this mill. It's been a good thing for me over the last eight-nine years. It's just a hobby.

Do you still farm to make a profit?

Well, it's hard.

How have things changed?

I used to grow a lot of tobacco, and when I used to grow it in the '60s, you could buy a ton of fertilizer for $40. When I quit growing tobacco 10 years ago, it was $700 and back then when it was $40 for fertilizer, tobacco was 60 cents a pound. Just like cattle -- you take a load to the market one week and you may get 10 to 15 cents more a pound than the week before. It goes up and down. It's hard to make anything out of it. Things have gotten so expensive.

What do you like best about farming?

Oh, you get your exercise. You don't rust out!

What kind of hours do you put into it?

I can't sit in the house. I always have to do something.

What is the difference between today's farmers and farmers from previous generations?

Now you got equipment to do it with. Back when I was growing up, we had a horse and a plow, and now you got things like tractors. Years ago you had to plow corn and now you can spray it and never go back to it until you pick it.

What do you see as the future of farming?

It's bad. It's too expensive to go into it. Take a hay bailer, it costs $16,000-$20,000; a tractor is $40,000-$50,000; a corn machine, that's $7,000 or $8,000; you go out there and cut hay and you have other equipment. You wear your equipment out and you can't afford to pay new.

It sounds bleak. How does that impact the community?

You can't make a living out of it. That's why Louise, my wife, said I worked at the plant (to earn an income,) so I could work on the farm (laughs). It's a way of life and an enjoyable life if you can make a living out of it. But you got to be big to make any money.

<p>Name: Max Grant, 78</p><p>Occupation: Farmer</p><p>Family: Wife, Louise; children Ricky Grant, Gene Grant and Lynn Blythe.</p><p>Residence: Mills River</p><p>Max Grant has been making cornmeal for about eight years on his farm in Mills River. Last week on his snow-covered farm, he spoke about the farming way of life while using a mill to grind kernels for the next batch of cornmeal.</p><p>How long have you been farming?</p><p>Ever since I was 16. We grew corn, cattle and hogs. We used to take our corn down to a mill down the road and used to make cornmeal there. Then I got interested in (making cornmeal) and found this mill. It's been a good thing for me over the last eight-nine years. It's just a hobby.</p><p>Do you still farm to make a profit?</p><p>Well, it's hard.</p><p>How have things changed?</p><p>I used to grow a lot of tobacco, and when I used to grow it in the '60s, you could buy a ton of fertilizer for $40. When I quit growing tobacco 10 years ago, it was $700 and back then when it was $40 for fertilizer, tobacco was 60 cents a pound. Just like cattle -- you take a load to the market one week and you may get 10 to 15 cents more a pound than the week before. It goes up and down. It's hard to make anything out of it. Things have gotten so expensive.</p><p>What do you like best about farming?</p><p>Oh, you get your exercise. You don't rust out!</p><p>What kind of hours do you put into it?</p><p>I can't sit in the house. I always have to do something.</p><p>What is the difference between today's farmers and farmers from previous generations?</p><p>Now you got equipment to do it with. Back when I was growing up, we had a horse and a plow, and now you got things like tractors. Years ago you had to plow corn and now you can spray it and never go back to it until you pick it.</p><p>What do you see as the future of farming?</p><p>It's bad. It's too expensive to go into it. Take a hay bailer, it costs $16,000-$20,000; a tractor is $40,000-$50,000; a corn machine, that's $7,000 or $8,000; you go out there and cut hay and you have other equipment. You wear your equipment out and you can't afford to pay new.</p><p>It sounds bleak. How does that impact the community?</p><p>You can't make a living out of it. That's why Louise, my wife, said I worked at the plant (to earn an income,) so I could work on the farm (laughs). It's a way of life and an enjoyable life if you can make a living out of it. But you got to be big to make any money.</p>